The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-04-16
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Vnanimity of Jurors.

A correspondent of the PALATKA NEWS,
under the caption of ''Court-House Con-
temptations" has given the fruit of some
careful observations on the working of
our jury system. The advantages of that
system are familiar to ALT has been
found valuable as a check on the pre-
JUDGED or biased judge-it is a safeguard
against political influence, and it fur
nishes a medium by which the public
in popular government may exert its due
weight But in am age when the jury
fixer" is omnipresent and good men evade
Jury duty. it entails much evil-what is
the remedy?
Why should the law require unanimity
in the jury? What virtue or strength is
there in unanimity which would not
equally reside in a majority? Unanimity
simply gives to one man the power to
thwart the will of eleven others equally
good-it offers advantages to the giver
and taker of brides - it debases the
methods of the pleader by combining his
argument, often, to the capacity of one
instead of the broader task of convincing
eleven. The matter is an important one
and much thought has been expended
on it.
We quote Maximus Lesser. am emf
nent authority:
Yet it will cause no surprise in view
of the tendencies of our age, to behold
even this cherished and time-honored
institution subjected to the onslaughts
of legal iconoclasts, and its faults or
flaws magnified into colossal proper
ton The defects incident to trial by
jury would almost wholly disappear,
and its virtues be correspondingly
| enhanced, by the abolition of what Hal
lam terms . that preposterous relic of
| barbarism the requirement of unan-
unity. The sole advantage attributable
| thereto is the opportunity which 1T gives
each individual juror to be heard; but
this end would be equally well attained
by enabling majority to render valic
verdict after a definite period of impan
elment; thus allowing the minority OPP
| pOrtunity to convince the others by argu
ment, but preventing it from multiplying
the will of the majority by an absolut,
| veto power On the other hand, the oh
| iections to the requirement of unanim
| ity are many, and may be said to con
sist in:
| II. The absence of any reasonable st
curity in unanimity which is not equal,
well afforded by a majority. TIN
| diminutiOn of public confidence in tin
| administration of justice. owing to TIN
probability that jurors will disagree an,
trials thus be abortive.-5. 1t involves TIN
application of coercion, enforcing con
| viction Thy the agency of close confine
ment) on the minds of the jurors.
Indeed, hardly more than centur,
ago this element of coercion was W.
| learn from BlackstOne) carried to such al
extreme as to require the jurors, afte
the. judges charge, to be kept withou
meat, drink, fire, or candles, till the,
not agree in their verdict before TIN
Judges are about to leave, they may b
carried around the circuit from town T.
town in a cart So old Plowden quaint
reports: And for that a certain box q
sugar. called sugar candy, and swee
roots, called GquOrish. were found wit
John MucklOw, one of the jurors afort
said; therefore the said j. Nj.
committed to the Prison of the Lady TIN
Queen of the Fleet While Pope sarcas
tically sings of how
THE hungry judges soon "A sentence sign,
And wretches hang that jurymen may dine"
Were the abolition or modification q
this requirement secured, the characte
of the institution would soon be amelit
rated, and the two ulcers which mainl
disfigure its cOuntenance-briber an
ury-fixing-would speedily disappear
For,
Il. Corruption is much less practices
bic where a majority must be mad
to succumb to its influence.
Hope of profit can no longer act as an il
ducement for worthless persons to serv
as jurors, since the purchase of thei
votes would be an uncompromising in
vestment;-3. The occupation of jury
fixer will become a thing of the past
since he will no longer have fit subject
| to operate upon, nor parties eager to EN-
. ploy him:-4. Men of capacity, standin
and integrity, will with more READINGS
consent to serve, since their opinio
! must then carry its proper weight an
can no longer be nullified by their inf,
riors;-5. Trials will become shorter. SCI
vice in the jury-box less exacting. an
the status of the legal profession itse
will be benefited by the change; for tn
labor of the advocate can no longer /
confined to- the aim of causing an ind
vidual to dissent, but must assume TIL
nobler and broader form of an endeavC
to convince the majority of the justiC